Experts Blog

Both attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and a nonverbal learning disability (NVLD) are life long neurobiological challenges. ADHD was first formally recognized as a disorder by the American Psychiatric Association (APA) in the 1960’s. Today, ADHD is one of the most commonly diagnosed and perhaps over diagnosed childhood and adolescent disorders.

In contrast, NVLD has yet to be formally recognized and is generally overlooked, underdiagnosed, and misunderstood. Moreover, NVLD is frequently mistaken for ADHD. One of the key dangers of misidentifying mental health disorders is the distress it can cause the individual and their family. A lack of proper identification can result in unrealistic demands, expectations and overestimations of the individual’s ability. Subsequent self esteem and self confidence issues, social and emotional concerns, as well as academic struggles and frustrations can give rise to a lifetime of challenges.Read More

I spend my summers, along with my husband and our two daughters in rural Vermont with 120 children who think of themselves as “quirky” – many of whom have a diagnosis of NVLD. Our community of over 200 people has an amazingly rare opportunity to spend the summer months almost completely unplugged. Aside from daily communication with parents via email and phone, we live without television, cell phones, video games. You see, we run a residential summer camp where we focus on the things that matter most…interpersonal IN PERSON relationships – something so many of us now struggle to find time for.

I just finished reading two articles about the impact of smartphones on our emotional wellbeing and our intelligence. Neither article was positive. The bottom line is that our constant use of our phones has caused us to feel more depressed, to sleep less, to interact with others less and to be more distracted. All of these factors are even more intense for teens who are using phones these days as a way to interact with peers.Read More

Life can be very lonely when it feels like people don’t “get” you. Our campers tell us that camp gives them an opportunity to be a part of something bigger, to be a member of a community where people understand them and appreciate them for who they are. Many people find it hard to imagine that summer camp can provide more than a few weeks of fun activities. And yet, camp is so much more. Residential camp gives children an opportunity to meet peers who have similar interests and experiences, but also to be more independent, to learn resiliency, to feel a sense of agency.Read More

I work as a learning specialist in a mainstream independent school in New York City. In my role I see students with a variety of challenges and diagnosed learning disabilities. I currently work with one student, Ethan, who is diagnosed with NVLD. In a social, collaborative environment that demands strong independence and self-advocacy skills he has struggled. The give and take of social interactions and understanding what is appropriate behavior in the classroom can be difficult for Ethan. Together, we have developed strategies that help him advocate for himself and I have shared useful tips with his teachers so that their interactions with Ethan are productive.Read More

The NVLD Project is supporting a research study on children with NVLD at Columbia University Medical Center. Our goal is to better understand what makes NVLD a distinct diagnosis. We are trying to learn more about how children with NVLD learn and if there are differences in the way that their brains work. In order to do this, we are having children come spend a day at Columbia University Medical Center. The day consists of spending time doing tasks and an MRI scan.

Dating can be daunting for anyone, but dating with a Nonverbal Learning Disorder (NVLD) creates a unique set of challenges. People with NVLD have difficulties reading body language, understanding nuance such as sarcasm in communication, and simply managing to transition to new environments. Nevertheless, while the challenges of dating on the Autism Spectrum have received increasing attention, little has been published about NVLD. However, as I suggested in my blog post Overlooked: What Makes Many Young Adults with NVLD Attractive, many young people with NVLD have unique strengths. I outline below how they can use these strengths not only to compensate for deficits, but also as assets. Of course, every person with NVLD is unique and these suggestions are not meant to be a one-size fits all approach, but they may help young adults with NVLD increase confidence while dating.Read More

The challenges in finding and keeping employment for young adults on the autism spectrum are well documented, with studies indicating that 75 to 85 percent are unemployed . However, there are no employment statistics for adults with NVLD, although according to Yvonna Fast, author of the book Employment for Individuals with Asperger Syndrome or Non-verbal Learning Disability, a high percentage are also thought to be unemployed or underemployed. Despite the increasing availability of job coaching and independent living services for young adults on the autism spectrum, the NVLD population lacks access to similar services, despite the many challenges they face. Deficits in visual spatial processing and executive functioning can cause seemingly mundane work tasks, such as organizing files, prioritizing, and filling out forms, to be excessively onerous, while managing nonverbal communication from employers and colleagues can also be challenging. More must be done, starting at the college and graduate school levels, to prepare adults with NVLD for the demands of the workforce.Read More

One hallmark behavior associated with NVLD is social difficulty. Often children with NVLD feel isolated and lonely. Social problems associated with NVLD may derive from difficulty with spatial and visual-perceptual deficits. However, the social problems associated with NVLD may derive from other sources, too. Many children with NVLD experience anxiety. Sometimes this anxiety is purely social, but many times it extends into other realms. It is not uncommon for children with NVLD to have obsessive tendencies or to have phobias and other forms of anxiety, in addition to social anxiety. Anxiety can lead to children restricting their interactions with others to avoid anxiety-inducing triggers. Read More

Children with NVLD have spatial or visual-perceptual deficits. For some this leads to difficulty in math, for others to social problems. The mechanisms underlying these social problems are not well understood. One hypothesis is that spatial and visual-perceptual deficits make it hard for children to interpret social cues. For example, they may misinterpret facial expressions and incorrectly determine that someone is frowning at them when instead the person is looking quizzically at them. Alternatively, spatial and visual-perceptual deficits may interfere with children’s ability to interpret body language. They may see two children standing together and misinterpret the amount of space between them, and then misattribute the meaning of that space. They may think, “Those girls are huddling together and don’t want me to join in,” whereas another child might think, “There are two girls I know standing together; I will join them.” Additionally, spatial and visual-perceptual deficits may make it hard to integrate cues about the spatial environment with a current social scenario. Read More

I’ve always found it ironic that a child with a Non-Verbal Learning Disability can have such difficulty with reading comprehension. Some other time I’ll talk about why the “non-verbal” part of the LD label doesn’t quite capture the difficulties these kids have. Today, though, I want to offer some advice that can be used in school or at home for working on those reading comprehension issues. Read More

ABOUT THE NVLD PROJECT

The NVLD Project is dedicated to raising awareness, building support and creating helpful solutions for children, adolescents, and adults with Non-Verbal Learning Disability. The NVLD Project is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.